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jlji 251889 




PUBLISHED BY EDWARD E. CLARK 

^rt stationer anH Sngraijcr 
No. 41 "West Strket . . . Boston. 



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COPYRIGHT, 
e.DWARD E. CLARK 

1889. 



(Zon^\r}6. 



WHEN disease and want and sorrow 
Are beneath thy gladsome feet, 
When are broken all earth's shackles, 
When as one all nations meet, 



When the wide earth is a garden, 
When love driveth out all hate, 

When earth's once terrific forces 
Like trained servants on thee wait,- 



Then the God who through the ages 
Did thy toilsome progress lead, 

He who vras and is and shall be, 
Will have come in very deed! 



The Human Christmas. 



SZIAE up the ages, on the dim borders of the primeval world, 
A we can discern the outlines of the gathering peoples, 
can hear the distant strains of their festive music and the 
far-echoed shouts of their joy. Their sun-god is born in the 
darkest day of winter, and is coming to bring life and light 
and gladness again. The dream of Immanuel — "God with 
us" — lias never been far from the hearts of men. Whether 
it took the shape of a Greek theophany, the Messianic vision 
of the Jew, the glad Saturnalia of the Roman, the Egyptian 
incarnation of Horus, the Indian myth of Vishnu, or the 
Christian myth of the manger child, at heart it is the wide 
world's one hope, one dream, one grand reality. In whatever 
dress the loving imagination or the crude fancy of man may 
clothe it, the attempt to express an eternal truth is plain. Is 
it the dream of Eden that man was once with God and God 
with man? Is it the crude sun-worshipper's fancy tliat the 
bright god is coming with warmth and food to the cold and 
needy earth? Is it the Jewish hope that some day God will 
appear for human deliverance? Is it the Indian and Egyptian 
secret that God and man are of kin, and one may wear the 
likeness of the other? Is it the Christian myth that God did 
once have a human mother, and stooped thus to our low 
estate? In all these Protean shapes, man has always struggled 
to utter what he has felt to be an infinite truth. And though 
all the utterances be false in form, and so fail adequately to 
express the inexpressible, yet the truth remains. 



Hew? 



POW shall come thy kingdom holy, 
In which all the earth is blest, 
That shall lift on high the lowly. 
And to weary souls give rest ? 
Not with trumpet call of legions 

Bursting through the upper sky, 
Waking earth through all its regions 
With their heaven-descending cry ; 

Not with dash or sudden sally, 

Swooping down Avith rushing wing, 
But as, creeping up a valley, 

Come the grasses in the spring : 
First one blade and then another, 

Still advancing are they seen, 
Rank on rank, each by its brother. 

Till each inch of ground is green. 

Through the weary days of sowing, 

Burning sun and drenching shower, 
Day by day, so slowly growing. 

Comes the waited harvest hour. 
So the kingdom cometh ever, 

Though it seem so far away : 
Each bright thought and true endeavor 

Hastens on the blessed day. 



Sai?it)'s Ecr)o o[ i^ Gr)i?isfrr)as S0r)g. 



u ?^HE world is my country, and to do good is my religion." 
^ The name of the man who gave utterance to these words 
has for a hundred years been bespotted with obloquy, for the 
reason that he rejected certain dogmas that were considered es- 
sential parts of the popular religion. And yet I know no words 
better fitted to be the earth's response to the Christmas song of 
the angels than are these. In this grand antiphony, when we 
hear the angels singing, " Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace, good will toward men," what answer can the earth 
give to that song more beautiful than, " The world is my coun- 
try, and to do good is my religion " ? For, when this latter sen- 
timent has been wrought out in the lives of individuals and of 
nations, the prophecy of the angel-song will have been accom- 
plished ; for this is only another way of giving utterance to the 
divine sentiment of "Goodwill." Good will! This is the 
finest, highest, last outcome of all civilization. To bring about 
a condition in which good will shall be universal is the one aim 
and end of all this old earth's endeavor. 



ls Kingdom 3ave., 



CINCE God is love, and loving 

Is heaven, love keeps the gate 
And they who know love's secret 
Need for no future wait. 



In spite, then, of earth's sorrow, 

In spite of all its sin, 
The kingdom is before you : 
Arise, and enter in ! 



Tlpe Drean; of peac 



s. 



(31 ND it 16' a most beautiful dream, is it not, this which 
C^ pictures the whole round world at peace? Think, for 
a moment, what it would mean ! All the armies disbanded ; 
all the forts dismantled and left to decay ; all the ships-of-war 
rotting at the wharves or else turned into messengers of com- 
merce. Think of the great cities, populous with men and 
women, with children playing freely and happily in the streets, 
great tides of commerce flowing from city to city and nation to 
nation, ships on every sea, but not a gun on any one of them, 
ships crossing to carry the products of peaceful industry from 
where there was a surplus to where there might be a need, the 
sailors lading or unlading these ships, singing and contented at 
their work. Then those lovely country pictures which are 
embalmed in all the poetry of the world, — cattle feeding at 
peace in their pastures, browsing along the brooks or on the 
edges of the quiet rivers, reflecting themselves in the still 
water, the flocks of sheep upon the hillsides hardly needing 
the guardianship either of dog or shepherd, the cottages of the 
farmers covered with vines, where peace and content abound, 
because there is plenty, and no fear of the future; all men and 
all w^omen in all nations and under all skies engaged in the 
quiet and happy pursuits of peaceful life, trying to produce all 
they can for their own needs, glad to exchange with their 
neighbors, and calling all men neighbors, though the diameter 
of the world be between them. Is it not a lovely picture? Is 
it not something to kindle the poet's imagination? Is it not 
something to fire the heart of the patriot? Is it not something 
to rouse the enthusiasm and the inspiration of the world's 
leaders, and is it not a credit to hearts in all ages that they 
have at least desired a world like this ? 



ppopbecy. 



7] LAS ! the world has dreamed this dream, 
^ And only now the sun 
Begins to touch the eastern hills, — 
The dawning is begun. 



The wondrous boy is ours once more ; 

No god, but just a boy,— 
A boy, a youth, a man, whose love 

Foretells the future's joy. 



For he, the blossom fair, the fruit 
Sprung from our human tree, 

Becometh thus a prophecy 
Of what the world shall be. 



For he was human ; and, since man 
Such fruit for once could bear, 

The future's harvest-field shall see 
Such fruitage everywhere. 



yictr) feictr) J^pir)q lf)c r)ii)qd0rr), 



rnHE kingdom of God on earth! What do we need to do 
I to bring it about ? We need to abolish disease as far as 
possible. That is a problem that can be solved. Man 
can solve it. He is going to solve it. We need to abolish vice 
and crime. Men will learn some day, as they get wiser, that 
their happiness and welfare are involved in living clean, noble, 
true lives ; and, when they learn that, they will struggle on 
toward the realization of it. So this is a problem capable of 
solution. It is nothing to sit down before in despair ; because 
it can be done. We need to abolish war and the everlasting 
rivalry and bloodshed between nations, as between individuals. 
And this can be done. I know not when. I only know the 
world has made progress toward it, and is progressing toward 
it still. I only know that this mighty force, that reaches out 
toward the better, is not yet spent.;, I believe that the kingdom 
of God will come, not suddenly ,j^^i5^eyealed from heaven, but 
slowly evolved from earth, as ybia" &;rid I begin, just where we 
stand, to fulfil, in all nobility and manliness, the commonplace 
relations of our lives, making a kingdom of God where we are, 
that shall spread and grow until our personal spheres touch and 
coalesce with the personal spheres of others ; and so, by conta- 
gion, it spreads over the whole round world. 



f ogt lit i\it C|iUtirm. 



fHE children are a prophecy 
Of what shall one day be, 
"When we a fairer land have gained 
Beyond to-day's rough sea. 



We weary, tugging at the oars : 
Our hearts grow sick and faint ; 

Their younger arms the ship shall guide, 
Their shouts drown our complaint. 



We sigh, " The land is far away," 
And give the struggle o'er : 

They'll bring the vessel into port, 
And leap upon the shore. 



The Christmas hope to us is dim, 
And God seems far away : 

Our children's songs shall usher in 
The endless Christmas day. 






-yi^E must depend on others for our joy. If we have beauty, 
it is nothing except as some one appreciates it. If we 
write a book, it is all vain, except as some one reads and cares 
for it. If we paint a picture or sing a song, it is for tlie eyes 
or ears of others. And the world is gradually learning the 
great lesson, the secret of civilization, that no one can be happy 
alone. It can only be as one perfect unit of a perfect society. 
Humanity is one body; and, while the foot suffers, the head 
cannot be at rest. 



•o^« 



Wond. 



niversal VVonder. 



fy^EN speak of the wonder of the virgin birth. The wonder 
of any birth is as deep, as mysterious, as unfathomable. 
Wherever you stand, whichever way you turn, the infinite mys- 
tery of what we call divine when we talk religion, of what we 
call evolutional force when we talk science, faces us. 



10 



LoVe the l^eal ^ingdom. 



lyiEN thought, on wings of angels 

As time drew near its end, 
This vision out of heaven 
Should to tlie earth descend. 



But God, through human working, 
Through blood and toil and tears, 

The blessed age is leading 
Up the ascent of years. 

Yet none the less it cometh ! 

This earth is as divine 
As any orb that seemeth 

In highest heaven to shine. 

Nor is there aught diviner 

In any realm above 
Than tender human pity, 

And gentle human love. 

n 



And 'tis tliis love so human 
That shall the sceptre hold — 

God's son, God's true vicegerent 
To rule the age of gold. 

He will not come for dreaming, 
This king we wait in vain. 

When in your heart, in my heart, 
He findeth room to reign,— 

Then shall we God's blest kingdom, 
Man's kingdom, enter in. 

Then vanquished is earth's sorrow, 
Then vanished is earth's sin. 

So comes the Christmas vision 
From cloudland to the real. 

So Cometh, and so only. 
The far, the nigh ideal I 



12 



GROWTH OF CHRISTMAS. 



HTHE observance of this day has enormously expanded within 
the last forty years. It did not originate with Christianity ; 
and not one of its special features is peculiarly Christian. The 
evergreens and the flowers, the gift-giving and the general 
mirth, are all an inheritance from pagan peoples. It was the 
birthday of the sun-god ages before Jesus was lifted to the 
vacant pagan throne. Indeed, it was not celebrated by Chris- 
tians at all for centuries. In the hands of the Roman and 
Anglican Churches, during the sixteenth century, it had become 
associated with so much that was rude, boisterous, immoral, 
and superstitious that the Reformation repudiated it, and tried 
to wipe it out of existence. But, being so human, it was rightly 
dear to the human heart. Its marvellous literary expansion 
is doubtless due, more than to anyone else, to Charles Dickens. 
As it has grown more and more in popular favor, it has come 
to stand for all the sweet amenities of human life. It is the 
time when, however busy or forgetful we may be the rest of the 
year, we find time for the remembrance of all our friends. 
It is the day of the heart, when all its warm, sweet impulses 
should flow forth simply and unrestrained. 



13 



THE FLITTING YISION, 



N old crusading days, a childhood band, 
Rushed blindly on to seek the sacred land, 
And wrest from grasp of pagan infidel 
The Tomb of Christ. Tis said that it befell, 
Whenever some new town arose in sight. 
They cried out, eager in their glad delight — 
Trusting no more of toil remained for them — 
'• Now are we there? Is this Jerusalem?" 
But like a fire besieged by wind and rain. 
Though almost quenched, their courage fiamed again. 
Still on they marched ; and every distant spire 
Kindled fresh hope, and fed their strong desire. 
And, though the city yet was far away. 
Each new town lured them onward day by day. 



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'ate of obnstmas. 



ROW, nobody knows at what time of year Jesus was born. 
And it was not until some time in tlie fourth century 
that the present date for the Christmas festival was fixed 
upon. Chrysostom tells us it was purposely fixed upon the 
date of the Eoman Saturnalia. "Whatever may have been 
the conscious purpose of the Church, it is easy to see that this 
was no mere accident. The Saturnalia meant "God with us " ; 
and Christmas means the same, though the mythical forms that 
tell the story be ever so divergent. It was only natural, then, 
that the Roman festival, instead of being torn up by the roots, 
should be grafted on the Norseman's Ygdrasil or world tree, 
and that both should blossom out into the lights, and be heavy 
with the fruit of friendship's heavy gifts. The Christmas tree 
then means the human love-gifts that grow out of the root of 
human faith in the fatherhood of God. No wonder, then, that 
the festival is permanent, that it grows in favor, that it over- 
runs the borders of all sects and creeds ; for its tap-root is in the 
human heart, and its branches will yet hold out their bending 
burdens of love for all the earth to gather. 



15 



RI59 pBei^B^. 



O OD crowns each man, each woman 

A king, a qneen, and cries : 
Look neither back nor forward, 
Nor gaze upon the skies. 



*' Look round you and beneath you, 
And there your kingdom see ; 
In loving and in helping 
Your paradise shall l:)e ! 

*' Not in the heaven you dream of 
Is truest happiness : 
You are as God when like him 
Some needy life you bless. 

'•' Create, then, truth and beauty; 
And beauty, truth, shall be 
The very world you live in. 
The life of all you see. 

16 



For still tlie lieart is maker 
Of its owii world ; and, wlien 

Tlie kingdom is within you, 
' Twill be without you then." 

Thus speaks the God within us. 

Let old-time dreams remain ; 
Nor let us for the future 

Our longings waste in vain. 

We want no lazy heaven : 
When love can find its mate, 

Two out of happy labor 
A heaven can create. 

Tears cleanse the eyes, and struggle 
But maketh brave hearts strong ; 

And over death triumphant 
Hope sings her victor song. 

So, while there's want and sorrow, 

Let us our heaven seek 
In making burdens lighter 

And lifting up the weak. 



Man Can Make Heaven. 



C;^ CIENCE has done much, is doing more, in developing the 
©-/ highest conception of tlie universe, the oneness of God, 
the oneness of human origin, the oneness of human nature, the 
oneness of human destiny. But the past has developed largely 
under the influence of what Mr. Darwin calls the power of 
natural selection. The best things, by the very fact that 
they were tlie best, the mightiest, have gradually come to the 
front ; and now the time has come when we can help on this 
process by what should be called human selection. The edu- 
cated people of the world can study the laws of human associa- 
tion, of human growth ; they can remove obstacles and help on 
the cultivation of those things on wiiich the peace and prosper- 
ity of the world depend. So that the thing which we should do 
is to seek to advance human knowledge, make it universal; so 
that all people, instead of being obstructionists to the world's 
advance, may co-operate together in achieving the common and 
magnificent destiny that lies before us, if we are wise enough to 
reach out our liands and take it. 



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:hei bEADiNG Ideal 



/^HIS is the Christmas hope. A son is bom, 
M^ Who, like a star upon the front of morn, 

Is herald of the day that is divine,— 

The day that with the Perfect Light shall shine. 

But still Messiah dies, and hope delays. 

Still mankind stumbles over darksome ways. 

Disease and sorrow and despair abide, 

As though no Son of God had lived or died. 

The way is weary ; and the city bright 

We seek so long is still beyond our sight. 

Once more the Christmas bells ring on the air, 

And with their music drive away despair. 

The hope-crowned Christ-child ever comes anew ; 

One day the mother's dream shall all come true. 

New heavens, new earth ! Although they long delay, 

'Tis God who lures us on, and leads the way. 

And each illusion, like a veil withdrawn. 

Fades like a cloud but to reveal the dawn. 

A morn shall surely come when Christmas bells shall ring 

Proclaiming evil dead, and man the glad earth's king 



19 



&' 



LIGHT ON THe l9lLLS- 



TESUS and souls like him help us iii another way. We see 
^ them towering above us like mountains that catch the first 
rays of light, while we are in the dark. We are not tall enougli 
to see, but we can believe that they see what they tell us they do. 
They can impart to us their faith, their trust; and it seems to 
rae a purely rational thiug. As a man on a mountain summit 
can see what I cannot in the valley, so, when some man that I 
recognize as having brain and heart and soul unspeakably above 
me assures me that he does see some great spiritual verity, I 
can, at any rate, feel that he probably does ; and so I gain a 
grander faith in that which I was disposed to doubt and let 
slip from my grasp. 

As when the valleys all in shadow lie. 
And shadowy shapes of fear still haunt the night. 
Some mountain peak reflects the coming light. 

And waiting lips break forth with joyful cry 

For gladness that at last the day is nigh, — 
So when some soul, that towers afar, is bright, 
The souls that sit in shadow, at the sight, 

Grow sudden glad to know 'tis light on high ! 

And when these mountain-towering men can say, 
*' We see, though it be hidden from your eyes," 
We can believe in better things to be ' 
So though the shadows still obscure our way, 
We see tlie light, reflected from the skies. 
That crowns thy brows, Man of Galilee ! 



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